Auditor: Dayton Was Irate During MNsure Website Meltdown

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - Gov. Mark Dayton wanted to shut down down MNsure for six weeks when the website meltdown was at its worst.

That's according to previously unseen documents obtained by WCCO-TV from a yearlong MNsure investigation by the Minnesota Legislative Auditor.

The documents reveal an increasingly alarmed and angry governor as he tried to fix the unfolding website disaster, long before any of the problems were made public.

MNsure investigators interviewed Dayton on Dec. 12, 2014.

The interview was not recorded, and the four-page summary obtained by WCCO was compiled from written notes.

The governor told investigators that for two years, he never heard about any of MNsure's problems.

"We asked whether concerns about the timeline or feasibility were voiced to the governor during this time," the auditor's notes read. "The governor said he recalls hearing no concerns."

Publicly, Dayton took responsibility for the rocky website roll out and said, "The buck stops with me."

But privately Dayton told investigators MNsure officials repeatedly told him it was going well until mid-September, two weeks before the website launched.

According to audit documents, "The governor said that when he heard ... about the concerns that remained regarding the exchange, 'it alarmed me and upset me.'"

The report found a cascading series of MNsure mistakes that could have been prevented.

"We believe MNsure operated poorly," said James Nobles, Minnesota's Legislative Auditor, during a series of fact-finding hearings at the Capitol.

Even before MNsure went online, in the governor's office, it was all-hands-on-deck.

An increasingly anxious Governor Dayton took charge, ordering daily discussions about website progress.

According to investigators:

"As October 1 approached, [MNsure Executive Director April ] Todd-Malmlov 'gave encouraging signs,' and the decision of whether to launch the exchange was 'her call,' the governor said. He said that administration officials were under the impression that the October 1 deadline set by the federal government 'was a firm one.' The governor said he wanted the exchange to proceed, but not if there were going to be serious malfunctions. He recalled a conference call on the Sunday before October 1 in which Todd-Malmlov and [MN-IT Chief] Parnell gave a 'green light' to launch the exchange."

The depth of MNsure's problems did not become clear until mid-November, according to audit documents, "when attempts to fix existing problems sometimes seemed to create new ones. 'It was like Whac-a-Mole,' the governor said."

The governor told investigators, "he wishes there had been a way to shut down the exchange for six weeks to fix all the problems. It was hard to fix problems when the exchange was up and running."

Much of the governor's ire was aimed at former Todd-Malmlov, whom he said gave the go-ahead to launch.

Dayton said Todd-Malmlov failed to correct "serious management errors" he said were "really predictable."

"The governor recalled asking Todd-Malmlov on multiple occasions whether staff were being added to the call center," according to the report. "She would say, 'Yes,' but the situation didn't seem to be improving. The governor said Todd-Malmlov should have acted sooner to bring in reinforcements."

The governor had more to say about Todd-Malmlov, who resigned under pressure, but the comments were removed from the documents.

"We classified some comments by the governor as not public, because they related to personnel issues," according to the auditor's office.

In it's second year, MNsure now has fewer problems, but Dayton revealed to investigators he still has concerns about how long it will take for MNsure to pay for itself.

According to audit documents: "The Governor said the 'acid test' for the exchange will come over the next five to ten years: Will it prove to be financially viable? "